Monday, October 12th, 2009
Its been awhile since i have had this brew on tap and it was the first time i have tried it in a bottle. It poured clear, golden in colour, with a medium level of carbonation and a head around 2 fingers in size which slowly receded to a thin lace cover.
The aroma was mostly malt driven, with sweet caramel notes and the odd hint of basil and lemon. On the palate sweet malty flavours lead the way with caramel, toffee and butter scotch although it’s not too much work to notice hints of citrus and vanilla lurking in the background. The beer finishes crisp with a slightly sweet after taste.
Verdict: Easy drinking English style Ale, if your in Sydney there is no excuse to miss tasting it at its birthplace up in The Rocks at the Lord Nelson.
Score: 8.0 / 10
Where to buy: This beer is pretty easy to find around Sydney, you can get it from the Lord Nelson Hotel itself, The Australian Hotel or the Australian Wine Centre in Circular Quay.
Link: Lord Nelson Brewery
Tags: ale, lord nelson, NSW, Sydney
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Thursday, September 24th, 2009
Pours with a minimal head, slightly cloudy in appearance, lightly carbonated and bright straw in colour. The aroma is full of caramel and fruit notes, mango and lemon predominating.
Fresh apple flavours dominate the front of the pallet, working to an apex of fresh floral hops, citrus, toffee and caramel flavours as the brew moves further over the palate. A slight pepper spiciness also seemed to linger for a little while after every sip.
Verdict: Pleasant enough for something different, bit intense though to enjoy more than 1 or 2 during a sitting.
Aroma: 8/10
Appearance: 5/10
Taste:7.9/10
Overall:7.6/10
Link: http://www.kooindaboutiquebrewery.com.au/
Where to buy: This is another Victorian micro brew that at present come as far north as the border, so the only option for us New South Welshmen is to buy a case from the breweries website.
Tags: ale, pale ale, VIC, Victoria
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Saturday, August 22nd, 2009
When i received this bottle i wasn’t sure exactly what to expect, the bottle’s label is fairly plain and unassuming. Also this was the first i had ever heard of Wineglass Bay Brewing. I find it strange that for a state so well known in beer circles for barley, hops, Cascade and Boags we don’t see more happening on the Craft Beer scene down south. Nevertheless i put my bottle of Hazards Ale in the fridge and waited not knowing what to expect….
Emptying the bottle into a glass the beer was a nice straw colour with a head around 3cm in size, this slowly died over the space of a few minutes to leave a nice lace covering. Aroma wise i struggled to get much at all, bar the faint smell of citrus fruit and the odd hint of freshly cut strawberries.
On the palate this beer was extremely clean, combining a gentle hop bitterness with some wheat tones, hints of toffee flavoured sweetness accompanied by notes of citrus fruits and a touch of spice.
Score: 7.9 / 10
Verdict: This ale is super clean, on a hot summers day this type of easy drinking session beer would be hard to beat.
Link: http://www.wineglassbaybrewing.com.au/
Where to buy: Online at their website.
Tags: ale, pale, TAS, Tasmania, wineglass bay
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Wednesday, August 19th, 2009
I hate to admit it, but i am waiting for a Monteiths beer to knock me over they seem to be trying alot of unique twists with their beer which is fantastic! But everyone of their beers i have tried so far has come up short in the taste and left me mildly disappointed. So when i got a bottle of the Monteiths Hearty Black Beer i got pretty excited, i love my darker beers and figured it was time for me to be bowled over.
Decanting the bottle into a glass this beer looks very appetizing with a light brown head about two fingers in size which died off over the space of a couple of minutes. The aroma on this brew was also very enticing packed with dark fruit, cocoa and spices. On the palate this beer is also pretty good consisting of a nice creamy mouth feel, light bitterness which brings out a nice nutty flavour. The flavours that lead the way are coffee and cocoa although toffee, honey and cherry flavours are also present.
The beer then finishes on the palate very clean with a very mild lingering mocha aftertaste.
Score: 5.6 / 10
Verdict: Started off great although something about the balance was a little bit of and by the end of the bottle i was a bit over it. Its not something i would go out of my way for again but i would happily drink another at some stage for something a bit different.
Where to buy: Dan Murphy’s stocks this, i got my bottle online from Slow Beer though.
Tags: ale, Monteiths, New Zealand, stout
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Thursday, August 6th, 2009
The guys from Little Creatures a few years back really changed the way everyone thought about beer with their big malty ale creations from the west coast. Last year they expanded and opened up a brand new brewery located in Healesville, Victoria. Rather than continuing production under the Little Creatures brand in the east, the new brewhouse creates beers under the White Rabbit banner.The dark ale from White Rabbit proves the dedication to tasty ales has not changed one bit though with the move across the country.
Decanting a bottle into a glass presents a deep copper colour ale, sporting a short lived tan coloured head. The aroma is hard to catch when cold, but is packed with big malt notes, accompanied with hints of bruised apple and fresh cut grass.
On the palate toffee and caramel flavors dominate along with hints of plum, raisins and apple. The hops stop the malt overpowering the drinker, resulting in a beautifully balanced ale. The aftertaste is sweet, with a fantastic hop twang that leaves the taster longing for that next sip.
Rating: 7.9 / 10
Verdict: This is not a beer you want to drink quick, its a drop that encourages you to take it slow and enjoy every sip. If you love big malty ales you won’t find one much tastier than this number.
Link: http://www.whiterabbitbeer.com.au
Tags: ale, VIC, Victoria, White Rabbit
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Thursday, July 2nd, 2009
After tasting tasting the Bright Staircase Porter i was very impressed with the effort from Bright Brewery and keen for more so i promptly rushed out and brought a bottle of their Fainters Dubbel to try.
Pouring the bottle into a glass revealed a slightly hazy dark ruby colour beer with a head around 2 – 3 cm high. This subsided rather quickly to a lacing around half a cm thick. On the nose i was blown away by this beer the smell was packed with the odour of raisins which instantly made me think of port wine.
On the palate this beer had a nice creamy body with the flavour mostly dominated by raisins, plum and hints of spice. The taste finished pretty dry, with a noticeable warmth provided from the alcohol content.
Verdict: Very unique in flavour and at 8.5%, it packs quite a punch, definitely a beer for sipping. It’s not something i would like to drink everyday but it made a pleasant deviation from the norm.
Score: 7.8 / 10
Link: http://www.brightbrewery.com.au/
Tags: ale, Bright bBrewery, Dubbel, Victoria
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Wednesday, June 24th, 2009
Mountain Goat is a relatively new Victorian brewery but they seem very capable when it comes to brewing a great tasting beer and this is earning them a legion of fans around the country. Their Surefoot Stout doesn’t seem to deviate any from the high standards set by their their other beers either.
In a glass it exhibits a medium sized tan head over a very dark almost black lightly carbonated body. Which aroma wise dominated by cocoa notes. To taste the flavor is mostly made up of toasted malt flavours accompanied by rich cocoa and coffee hints which leave a faint nutty quality in the aftertaste.
Verdict: I found this beer to be highly enjoyable and satisfying, perfect for unwinding at home after work on a cold winters night.
Rating: 7.9 / 10
Link: www.goatbeer.com
Where to buy:
Tags: ale, mountain goat, stout, tasting, Victoria
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Friday, June 19th, 2009
When i saw this beer I had to give it a go as they are one of my favorite local breweries here in Sydney. Also an Ale brewed with Tasmanian honey is not something you come across everyday and this beer proved itself to be a very unique drop.
In a glass this brew appears a murky straw colour with a lively medium sized head resting on top which lasted around 5 minutes before slowly starting to die away. The aroma caught me off guard at first as being very similar to a white wine with a passion fruit like presence that was very reminiscent of a semillion.
The taste come on with a mild bitterness, which is then quickly replaced by a wave of tropical flavours of Guava and Passion fruit ending with a sour tang and a dry mouth feel.
Verdict:It would probably pair with a light meal as good as any white wine. Maybe work good as a starter beer on a hot summers day but the tang at the end was too much for me and made me think the beer was partially oxidized.
Rating: 4.7 / 10
Link: Red Oak Brewery Cafe
Tags: ale, honey, NSW, red oak
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Wednesday, June 17th, 2009
Its that time of year again in Sydney when it gets cold, and our drinking preferences change from super chilled light easy drinking lagers to something a bit more refined with plenty of body. Something to sip on slowly and ponder the flavours on a cold winters night.
The Bright Staircase porter is the perfect match to the genre, emptying the bottle into a glass you are greeted by a brew, black as the ace of spades accompanied with a white creamy tightly packed headed which slowly dies down after a few minutes. This beer’s aroma predominantly features toasted coffee with hints of cocoa. On the palate it come across slightly sweet with on at the start, followed by blast of flavour comes through mid way featuring sweet oatmeal and coffee flavours with the odd hint of chocolate leaving an after-taste which is predominated by toffee and caramel notes
To drink i found this beer to be somewhat similar in flavour to a Coopers Stout although a fair bit smoother.
**Best enjoyed around 8 – 9 Degrees Celsius to let the full range of flavours shine though.
Verdict: An excellent dark beer, great to sip on a cold rainy winters night. Order yourself a case online from the brewery you won’t regret it!
Rating: 8.3 / 10
Link: Bright Brewery
Tags: ale, dark ale, porter, VIC, Victoria
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Tuesday, May 19th, 2009
Ever since i got this beer, i have been busting to taste it, unfortunately though it had to wait a couple of weeks. Still as they say good things come to those who wait and this beer didn’t disappoint.
Once in a glass this brew presented itself as lightly carbonated, bright gold in colour, with a loosely packed head which quickly died down to a scant covering over the liquid.
The aroma exhibits citrus notes and really gives away the presence of cascade hops. The taste of this beer is extra clean, slightly sweet with citrus, floral notes and an almost non-existent aftertaste.
Verdict: This beer was made for a hot summers day, ultra smooth you could drink these all day with out growing tired of the taste.
Rating: 7.2 / 10
Link: Vale Ale
Tags: ale, mclaren vale, pale, SA, south australian
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